What’s the one electronic device you take everywhere you go? Whether you’re at work, at the grocery store, or at home, mobile devices and tablets seem to never leave your sight. They have become an essential part of both our personal and professional lives. And now, mobile devices are emerging as leading tool for elearning. Mobile devices are revolutionizing elearning by providing consumers with the customized, relevant, and interactive content they desire.
Although mobile learning, also referred to as mlearning, is not yet as readily available as companies would like, it has already proven to be a major power player in elearning. According to Ambient Insight, the rapidly growing mlearning business is estimated to double to become a $12.2 billion industry by 2017. This value may be surprising, but when you consider the fact that 47% of businesses having already adopted some form of mlearning for training employees, its growth is not at all shocking. But besides the convenience of using a mobile device, why is mlearning so popular?
Here are the 3 trends to be aware of that are accelerating the speed of the inevitable mlearning takeover.
1. Bite-sized Learning
Often referred to as, “snackability content”, bite-sized learning gives consumers the ability to “consume” smaller amounts of content on their mobile devices whenever and wherever they are. If consumers are on a time crunch or have a specific question they need answered immediately, bite-sized learning gives them relevant information and flexibility that traditional elearning courses fail to provide. OpenSesame has many bite-sized courses, such as this customer service course, that will answer your immediate questions, without taking valuable time out of your day.
2. Gamified Learning
One of the most popular trends in recent years is gamified learning. This new interactive approach to learning uses a video game model to educate and captivate its users. When engineered well, gamified learning can be a powerful tool to engage consumers in their elearning courses. Ordinary elearning courses often fail to keep consumers’ attention and motivation because of their noninteractive, dull, and outdated methods of instruction. However, gamified learning can change this mundane view of elearning. Gamification produces simple, fun courses that increase employee engagement. Furthermore, gamification is predicted to be vital to the training of millennials, who have been raised in a technology-centric world.
3. Geo-Location Sensitive Learning
Geo-Location Sensitive Learning is another innovative feature that mlearning offers. Content is personalized for customers based on their location and can also be used in conjunction with gamification to create entertaining and versatile content that is relevant to customers. Location-based learning is suggested to improve customers’ retention of information and understanding because they will be able to relate to real world scenarios that depict familiar locations.
There is no doubt that mlearning is the future of elearning. In the fast-paced and ever-changing business world, accessibility and convenience are more important than ever. Mlearning gives customers the flexibility and personalized content they need in order to be actively involved in the content they are learning. Through the incorporation of bite-sized learning, gamified learning, and geo-location sensitive learning, mlearning will soon become the standard for corporations all over the world.
Check out OpenSesame’s courses on your mobile devices and tablets to make sure your company is up to date with the latest development in elearning!